“Anything else you’re interested in doing is not going to happen if you can’t drink the water or breathe the air. Don’t sit this one out. Do something,” by Carl Sagan.

It amazes me that we have gone to the moon over 40 years ago, and yet, we still do not support using clean energy sources. Notice I said SUPPORT and not HAVE a clean use of energy. Wind and solar power are not perfect but they certainly have a much lower impact on the global environment then coal, gas and oil. This will not change until consumers change. There is no reason to drill for oil or rip apart mountains for coal unless someone is willing to buy it.

A few years back the gas prices skyrocketed in our area. This didn’t entirely displease me. Why? Because it meant that people started carpooling, adjusted their thermostats, and otherwise sought ways to save — I was going to say “save energy” but really what they were doing was trying to “save money.” During this time, I overheard some colleagues stating that it took $75 to fill up their vehicle with gas. I was stunned. I said, “You spend $75 a month on gas?” They were stunned. “I wish. That is a week.” They were more stunned when they found out that I spent $25 a month.

I made choices. Environmental choices — early in my career. I chose to live close to work. I chose to live in town where I could walk to the post office, bank, and grocery store… and to work if it wasn’t storming. I bought a compact car…

Today’s Intention: Reduce or offset my carbon emissions (with the goal to have a zero impact on the planet).

How can I say that I want love for all — if I take actions that put some in harm’s way. It’s easy to disassociate ourselves. We flip a switch — the lights go on. We nudge a little plastic lever on a thermostat and the heat comes on. We turn a key and an engine roars to life. WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN TO OUR PLANET FOR US TO HAVE THESE CONVENIENCES?

If you only ever watch one TED talk I post — PLEASE — watch this one. We are out of time to sit back and say this is not MY problem. We are ONE planet. We are ONE species. We are THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION. Not from asteroids or aliens. Not from bacteria or bad debt. BUT FROM: HUMAN GREED — HUMAN ARROGANCE — HUMAN APATHY. This is not someone else’s problem. This is not some other nation’s problem. This is not a problem for future generations to solve.

It’s YOUR problem and MY problem. It is the problem of all 7 plus billion people on this planet.

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21 thoughts on “Day 108 In the Pursuit of Love”

To be fair, most people have NO idea about the impacts their activities have elsewhere because this is not taught anywhere. I found a book about the lifecycle of stuff and discussed a couple of things (a slice of pizza and a cotton t-shirt) with my son’s Grade 7 or 8 class many years ago. Almost none of them knew anything about cotton or polyester or how the ingredients of a slice of pizza came to be.

Also notice I said impacts, not choices. If people don’t know that a choice exists, or if they have no access to the resources that would make choosing differently possible, they are not choices.

Current policies prevent many many people from taking choices, as subsidies artificially make the bads so much more affordable than the goods. Moving to be closer to work is also not an option for many due to affordability. There are many other barriers.

Until society is taught about the impacts, most do not understand them (I don’t think the evening news, which follows every somewhat truthful story with one that is industry generated) . So many people cannot afford to travel to other places, hence they do not exist. TV is their window to the rest of the world. Brainwashing, consumer manipulation, community pressures… can all work against individuals trying to make “greener” or healthier choices. This requires great strength, wisdom, and usually support.

We need to get destructive industries and big money out of government and insist that long term health and well-being be made a priority, not suicidal economic growth

All that you say is true — sadly most governments seem to moving in the opposite direction. I agree that more should be taught in schools about each person’s impact on the global environment. I watch a show put on by a British Chef Jamie Oliver, trying get US schools to serve real food (with a lot of backlash). He should kids real vegetables like tomatoes and carrots and the had no idea what they were.

It is a person’s choice if they want to be informed. With the internet there is no longer a reason for people to be kept in the dark about the impact they have or what’s going on in the world. They have to start by wanting to KNOW first. Sadly most people don’t want the facts until after they have suffered or someone they love — then the question gets asked “What caused this cancer?” “Why are so many people dying from my community?” “Why do I get a splitting headache when I go to work?”

I can’t count the number of people who have told me they get sick being around someone with perfume on or fabric softener and then immediately follow the statement with “But I’m not sick like you.” The disease of denial is rampant in our world.
I have faith that if we keep getting the word out there more people will ask more questions and ultimately we will have change or we’ll go extinct and all the money in the world isn’t going to matter anymore. 😀 Thanks for your insightful and thought-provoking comment. 😀

Those of us in the ‘green’ community know what’s happening to the planet. We are witnessing the impacts of climate change, the oceans becoming depleted and species being lost – issues that should call us to collective action. So why are we still heading in the wrong direction?

This lack of response triggers our frustration, confusion and despair, so we counter by providing even more terrifying statistics and a depressing picture of the future.

When our collective behavior still doesn’t shift, it is easy to conclude that people just don’t care.

A new interpretation

What we need to understand is that no one living today is exempt from the pain and uncertainty of our time. Every human being is part of the same living planetary system, inseparable from the matter, energy and information flowing through it. We all sense what’s happening on some level, whether we pay attention or not.

Apathy comes from the Greek apatheia meaning non-suffering – it is the inability or refusal to experience pain. We can also explain our lack of response as the inability to deal with the suffering we’re all facing. Because we can’t handle the discomfort, we repress what we know and feel is happening to our world. Unfortunately, this repression comes at a high price:

Socioeconomic sources of repression
• The mass media
• Job and time pressures
• Social violence

What we need is compassion, the original meaning of which is “suffering with”. To feel pain on behalf of the larger system of which we are a part. When we stop repressing our pain, an enormous amount of emotional and mental energy is released – energy we we can use to creatively build a sustainable future.

I’ve written is so many posts that we always have two choices love or fear. Apathy definitely falls under the fear category. I see apathy and depression as anger turned inward. People get so overwhelmed that they shut down and do nothing or think they are doing nothing. Going back to my first sentence we are always taking a side. If we could first get people to turn their anger outward and then shift it from anger to passion then things will start to happen in a big way. Thank you for sharing that info — it certainly puts it in plain terms why so many feel so powerless. I used to be paralyzed from the enormity of all that is wrong in this world and then I heard Dr. Wayne Dyer say (paraphrased) — “One can not get sick enough to heal all the sick children. One cannot be hungry enough to feed all the starving children….” That made me realize it wasn’t my job to solve every problem. If each person found their purpose — their passion and they focused on that one thing — this would be a fun, happy, healthy planet to live on. 😀 I’ve learned so much from reading your blog. Together all of us speaking out are having an impact — we just need to keep at it. 😀

I keep writing and deleting because I can’t find the words to express the violent emotions this post and video has let loose. Over the last few years I have come to the conclusion that, collectively, the human race is insane. There are many individuals who can see the problems ahead and try to steer us away but, as a species, we have driven over the cliff without a backwards glance. And we’re singing as we freefall. Oh, and we’re dragging other species along behind us. (In addition to the species that we pushed off ahead of us.)

I have to admit I read your comment and walked away because I felt bad for bringing pain into your heart. But then I sat with it — and read it again — and realized I read exactly what I would want to read from everyone who read this post and watched this video — PASSION. I then I see what I would expect from passion — you immediately put that power to work, by researching and becoming informed. I can’t wait to see how this fuels your artistry. 😀

You were just waking me up. I used to keep myself informed about all kinds of environmental issues but I lost heart over the years. I didn’t seem to be making a difference and the problems seemed too huge. When we moved to Ireland I had big plans about living sustainably but most of it was a big flop for various reasons.
You, and Linda, have set me back on track. Thank you. I have some thinking to do…

That’s what governments and big corporations want us to think — that the problem is too big. That we’ll get discouraged and quit. I know I’ve been there. The thing that is important is that we work within our given passion and then we won’t burn out. It is impossible to know what a small act by one person can have on another. Maybe some child saw a picture I posted of a bald eagle and wanted to know more about them. Does and internet search to find that they were almost wiped out by the pesticide DDT and then he/she does more research to find out more about pesticides to discover their passion is to create sustainable farming practices that can feed the entire planet organic food at a cheaper cost than processed foods or an infinite number of other paths.
Your knowledge of science and art makes your voice unique. You’ll be able to express what needs to be “said” in a way that will move some people who wouldn’t have been moved by reading a book or listening to a speech. 😀

Some of us have many more choices available than others. We are privileged to have the insights required to be aware that choices even exist. Many people are not so lucky. They don’t even understand that they are acting out of love or fear, or even what love really is.

I remember being judged for making poor choices when I had no idea what alternative choices were available to me – because they weren’t available, I didn’t know they existed!

Not everyone has internet access or knows how to find reliable sites that can offer guidance. Even when there are bits here or there, they might be living in circumstances that prevent them from doing much.

And turning the overwhelm into anger at the right source is another HUGE barrier to change.

Most people take that anger out on other people who are close to them, instead of the true sources of the problems (for example, many people with MCS are angrier at the people who buy and use fragranced products than at the system that allows toxic chemicals in fragranced products, and then markets them every 15 minutes on tv while spending billions to discredit anyone who says the products are harmful)

Yes, ultimately we are responsible, but it can take lifetimes of effort and opportunities to come to any level of understanding of how to navigate through this mess…

I am trying to remember how it was when I was first getting started… how long it has taken, and how far there is still to go… and to find ways to help others find their power… and to realize that even little steps add up… that we are all in this together, and that looking after ourselves and each other also means looking after the planet which supports our lives too…

I loved the article you linked to. I try very hard to keep the anger out of my posts. It’s tough to promote love when one is writing from an angry (fearful) place. I am working to find the difference between fueling my thoughts from the power of anger and instead find my fuel from the power of passion. When people get to close to anger — they tend back away in fear — when people get to close to passion — they tend to get rejuvenated with hope. 😀 I couldn’t have written this blog in any other time of my life. I didn’t know what love was. I always told people how it was going to be — with no room for discussion. I didn’t think I had a choice. I still don’t pretend to have even some of the answers but I’m finally to the point that I am will to admit that it’s time to start asking some questions. I think the line that you wrote that — “They might be living in circumstances that prevent them from doing much.” — is all important. The key word being “much”. We can all do something. The first step is believing that. I lived down in the rabbit hole for most of my life before I realized that I could do something. The most important thing I keep telling myself is that everyone will get to where they need to be at the perfect time for THEM! 😀 Keep the comments coming — you are so drawing me out of my hiding place in my rabbit hole. 😀